In a trashy bachelor pad lived a colony of roaches who are able to roam freely for food or for games. Because of the homeowner being gentle with the roaches, they have no fear of traps, spray, or being stepped on. However when the homeowner starts bringing over a woman over, life starts to change for the roaches who are living an easy life.

Kenzou Tenma, a Japanese brain surgeon in Germany, had it all: incredible skill at his work, a rich and beautiful fiancee, and a promising career at his hospital. However, after becoming disenchanted by hospital politics, he chose to save the life of a young boy who got shot in the head over the life of the mayor. As a result he lost the support of the hospital director, as well as his position in the hospital and his fiance. A short time later, the hospital director and the doctors that replaced him were murdered, and once again he was catapulted back onto the top. But as the chief suspect of the murders, Tenma did not get a easy life. As a matter of fact, it seems that the boy he saved was much more than he had appeared to be... Now to clear his name and to correct his past mistake, Tenma must get to the bottom of these and other murders, and investigate the truth of the Monster who is behind all of this.

Monster was(is) one of the most engrossing animes that I've ever had the pleasure of watching - I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a new series to check out. It's 74 episodes so it will also last a while.

Are you talking about things like the episode of Pokemon that caused children all over Japan to have seizures? It was aired only once and never released on VHS or DVD, and is banned in many countries. There are some instances of it being released in an edited form (they edited the scene that caused the seizures) However, the original version has only been aired in Japan on TV IIRC and never made available anywhere else.

However, thanks to modern technology the episode is still available for viewing on the internet if you look hard enough, because some people had recorded it in Japan when it aired.

Nope. That Pokemon episode is too infamous to be considered rare. Granted that I haven't seen the episode, but it's too well known.

I guess one of rare types would be other children's anime which are completely ignored by typical Anime fans who think they've seen everything. Also educational anime completely sponsored by non-commercial entities. Or religious/cult group anime. Or certain pilot films.

There are anime titles so obscure that no Japanese or foreign user ever uploaded into internet. Even if it's uploaded, no one knows its existence unless you know the specific title. For those, I would consider it rare.

I enjoyed reading everyone else's thoughts... it's illuminating to see everyone's opinions on rare or unknown anime they've seen. It depresses me a bit to see some older shows listed here that really used to be known on a level like Naruto/Bleach when I first started watching anime... especially shows from uber-famous creators like "X" (CLAMP) and "Ranma 1/2" (Rumiko Takahashi).

It was also fun to see many of my old favorites mentioned here... titles like Bakuen Campus Guardress, Bastard!! and Devil Hunter Yohko. Many years ago, I got the chance to interview voice actress Rika Matusmoto and I tried to blow her mind by bringing up Bakuen Campus Guardress... but I'm not sure she remembered it or her performance in it... (^_^;;) But the song she sang in it ("Koisuru Diary") does appear on one of her Greatest Hits CDs...

And to the person who posted that screenshot from Dominion: Tank Police... YES~! That's a scene etched in my memory as well... the infamous anti-tank mines. Dominion holds a special place in anime history for me, as it was just the second anime I ever saw (after the movie "Akira").

I'm shocked someone mentioned Tenchi Muyo here, considering *all* the different versions of that series floating around... but to be honest, if you only discuss the original 6-part OVA series then I'd consider it super-rare~! It's weird that it seems the only version of that series which isn't available is the anime that actually started the whole thing... ^_^;;

As for my contribution, I'll include one title that did actually get an official release in the USA but I still don't think anyone besides me paid attention to... an awesomely goofy two-episode comedy called "Assemble Insert". This show was way too much fun~!

Spoiler Alert! Click to show or hide

I'll also include two one-shot OVAs I've only seen in fan-subbed form, one of which I watch every year as we approach December... a cool little sci-fi title called "Sequence" and a little romance title called "Ichigatsu niwa Christmas" ("Christmas in January"). The latter is especially interesting because of its amazing ending theme, which is one of the first songs released from the late, great Ritsuko Okazaki... who everyone knows for the opening themes of Fruits Basket and the currently airing Say 'I Love You'.

Stratos 4 (try finding Vol. 3 at a decent price)Maze OAV (this can be found at a reasonable price, but the TV series is mega bucks)Labyrinth of Flames (easy to find, a fun OAV)DNA2 Collection (this is way pricier then buying the individual volumes)The Familiar of Zero Complete Box Set (this newer series 1st collection is big Ka-ching!)